Axe over Wax, queen of crude

Ruby Wax's new daytime show faces the axe after viewers complained about her abrasive style.

BBC1 bosses hired her to front Ruby in an attempt to beat ITV's This Morning, which has been struggling in the ratings since Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan quit last year.

Despite heavy promotion, Ruby has attracted fewer viewers than either This Morning or its other ITV1 rival, Trisha, during a two-week pilot run which finishes today.

Ruby has drawn between 600,000 and 800,000 viewers, while This Morning, now fronted by Fern Britton and John Leslie, regularly gets between 900,000 and 1.2million, as does Trisha.

The BBC has received dozens of calls saying the style and content of Ruby were inappropriate for a 10am show.

Yesterday, discussing the dating habits of the elderly, Miss Wax bluntly asked one guest: 'So, are you still having sex?'

A BBC spokesman conceded that the show had provoked 'strong reactions', with viewers complaining that the American host was too crude and direct.

'Yes, we have had a lot of calls about the programme,' he said.

'Ruby is unusual for a daytime show and some of the audience have found it a bit strong.

'It has not so much been the subject matter - which is nothing you've not had on Kilroy --but the way she has handled it.'

'Roughly half' the calls had been in favour of Miss Wax, he claimed. 'We wanted her to be the same Ruby that you see in prime time, for her to be herself and not tone anything down. A lot of people think it has been great.'

No decision had been made on the show's return, he said, although a source close to the programme said it was unlikely.

'It is an expensive show because Ruby is a big name and viewers have been very mixed about it,' he said.

'The feeling is that she won't have the time to do any more even if she wanted to.'